Guardian
by Kamira
Summary: Set in the years between the Vampires of Edinburgh Arc and the day the Sins are forced to leave Liones. This is a story about the devotion and friendship between Meliodas and young Elizabeth. An expansion piece to my snippet "Loyalty".
1. Chapter 1

**This is in absolutely NO WAY a romance(because eww).**

 **I'll try to adhere to canon where it overlaps with this story but as I'm drawing from a series of scattered references just bear with me if I get some details wrong.**

 **Should still be cute and a fun read.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Boy with the Sword**

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open, her vision hazy and unfocused.

"Hm, she's alive." The silhouette of a person with dark hair appeared in her line of vision, as a soft hand touched her forehead. "It would be better, for her, if she didn't remember meeting any of us."

"Lady Merlin?" She croaked out, recognizing the Sin's voice even if her eyes refused to work.

A blur with pink hair joined Lady Merlin. Gil?

"Hello, Princess." Not Gil, but that voice was familiar, "Don't worry, I've never known anyone to experience discomfort with this technique." Her vision faded. "I sincerely hope we have the opportunity to meet again. Goodbye." She was sure she knew that voice, but what was his name again...she couldn't remember...

* * *

 **Two Years Earlier**

The sounds of a celebration pulled four-year-old Elizabeth from her bed and through the maze of halls and rooms that made up her home. Guided by the laughing voices echoing off the stone she soon found herself approaching the closed doors of the Great Hall.

Sneaking up Elizabeth ducked behind watched as some Holy Knights left, one carried a sleeping boy. Peeking through the now open door Elizabeth found a very strange scene. There was a giant giggling at a fat man and a huge suit of armor in the corner with a tall white haired man yelling and laughing at it. Finally, Elizabeth's gaze had landed on a boy standing alone outside.

She recognized him, he was the boy with the sword that she'd met the night before. She thought it was funny that he was alone outside, while his friends were inside laughing and being noisy.

She snuck past his noisy friends, her bare feet barely making a noise under her nightgown. She paused at the doorway to the balcony remembering Veronica's warning. But last night, he'd said he was a friend of Daddy's. Daddy was nice so Daddy would only have nice friends right? Right! Steeling her resolve she approached him where he stood, leaning on the railing. He didn't seem to notice her.

Silently, she peered up at him, taking the opportunity to study him. He seemed sort of sad. He also still had his sword. Why did this boy get to have a sword? Not even Gil got to have a sword yet. The boy was older, a big kid for sure, but everyone else that had a sword was REALLY old.

Veronica said he was a criminal, that he would eat her. He didn't look like he would eat her. He didn't look big enough. Some of his friends might. She glanced back through the open door to where the boy's friends were. The tall one with the white hair reminded her of a wolf from one of her story books, and wolves ate little girls. The same book said that giants made bread out of people's bones. That just left the fat man, she eyed his round stomach suspiciously.

"You're up late again." Elizabeth jumped, she'd been so focussed on the ones inside she hadn't realized that the boy had finally noticed her.

He smiled at her and she stared back.

"Aren't you afraid of the ghosts?" he asked her.

"Ghosts aren't real" she responded right away, repeating what Daddy had told her that morning.

"Oh no, ghosts are very real." He looked at her seriously.

Fear crept through her and she wished she'd brought her dolly.

"Kidding!" he took back playfully.

Elizabeth frowned at him, not sure if she liked his joke.

She was still debating his sense of humor when he crouched down so he was face to face with her. "I'm Meliodas" he introduced himself, offering her his hand like she was a grown up.

She smiled, she liked to be treated like a grown up. Shaking his hand she responded just like she'd been taught to in her etiquette lessons. "My name's Elizabeth, I'm the third princess of Liones." she punctuated her words by holding up three fingers to show him.

He smiled, (he did that a lot) "It's nice to meet you, Princess."

"Nice to meet you too, Sir Mayeo...Meyo...MayEotAs." She tried to respond as she had been taught but his name was so hard to say. Scrunching up her face she looked away from him, waiting to be scolded, she got in trouble when she couldn't say words, especially names, correctly.

He chuckled "I guess it's a bit of a mouth full. How about you call me ...Mel."

"Alright!" she smiled at him. Sir HenDICKson hadn't been this nice when she couldn't say his name. She liked Mel, he was nice.

"Where's your sister tonight? Doesn't she usually keep an eye on you?" He asked, looking around as if Veronica was hiding somewhere nearby.

"She's having a sleepover with her friend. I'm not allowed to sleep in her room tonight. 'No babies allowed'" she repeated the words Veronica said to her when she'd tried to join them in her room. Actually, Veronica had said that a lot since her friend arrived that morning."I don't think Veronica likes me anymore." Elizabeth looked down and shuffled her bare feet against the stone.

The feeling of a hand gently patting her on the head had her looking up into his very green eyes. "She loves you." he said with conviction "You're sisters."

She wanted to argue, to point out that they weren't REAL sisters, but the look on his face was so serious.

"Hey Cap'n, come join the fun." Elizabeth jumped, the tall man with the white hair was standing over them. She barely had the opportunity to tilt her head all the way up to look at him before he'd leaned right over and was inches from her face. "Oh, what do you have here?"

Her eyes went wide, all the hair stood up on her neck, and she gasped. He looked even more like a wolf close up, he had pointy teeth and he smelled bad. Veronica was right! He was going to eat her! She wanted to run, she really did, but her feet wouldn't move. Then in a blink, the tall man was gone, tumbling back across the balcony away from her. The boy, Mel, was still crouched next to her with his arm outstretched in the direction the wolf had gone. Did he push him?

"Don't scare her Ban." He chastised, before smiling at her again, "It's ok. I know Ban's ugly" (There was a muffled cry of protest from across the balcony), "but he won't hurt you. None of us will." He said looking towards the doorway where the others had gathered and were looking at her now.

She ducked behind Mel, gripping his shirt and hiding her face against his back.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.

"Veronica says they're criminals, she says they're going to eat me!" Elizabeth answered without raising her head.

He was quiet for a few second before he asked, "Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

"No!" Looking up at him she shook her head vigorously, "You're nice. You're Daddy's friend."

"Well," he stood up abruptly, "they're friends of your Daddy too, so they must be nice, right?

"Yeah" she answered hesitantly. That made sense.

"Come on Princess, I'll introduce you." Mel started walking towards his friends.

She scrambled to catch up, gripping his hand when she did. At first, he didn't respond, then his hand squeezed hers back.

* * *

She liked his friends. Veronica was wrong, they weren't scary. The giant would toss her in the air sooo high and the fat guy(who was apparently a fairy) would use his magical flying pillow to catch her. She'd laughed until she cried. Then, Mel got the wolf to start using his long stick to grab things. He could reach things all the way across the room. She would point to something, or Mel would throw something, and he would use his stick and snatch it back. The only one that didn't play with her was the big man in the armor because he said he didn't know any games.

She was having so much fun. She didn't feel sleepy at all as she sat down on a padded bench next to Mel.

" I wonder why no one's come to get you yet…" He commented from next to her.

"Nanny is sleeping. She snores really loud." Elizabeth answered. It was really easy to sneak out of her room when Nanny was sleeping.

"Hm." he acknowledged, a slight frown on his face.

She leaned into him and wrapped both her arms around one of his. "I like you." she yawned. No, definitely not sleepy. "Want to be my friend?" she asked, eyes drooping.

"Okay, I can be your friend," he replied.

"Good." She yawned. "I'll be your friend too," Elizabeth mumbled as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He smiled down at the sleeping little girl who still had his arm trapped in her vise-like grip. It had been nice to officially "meet" her tonight, but he would have to have a word with Baltra in the morning. It wasn't safe for her to be wandering around the castle at night on her own. While the Vampire hadn't gotten very far, the castle HAD been attacked last night. If Zaratras hadn't taken him out nearly immediately the whole place could have been overrun in no time. If she wasn't where she was supposed to be it would take him longer to find her and he knew from experience that any delay during an attack...was unacceptable.

Even on an average night the building was huge and was full of all sorts of people ranging from the usual servants and knights all the way to foreign dignitaries and random contractors. He was glad that she'd found him and the Sins tonight and not some other group of rowdy partiers. The Sins were harmless,(to her at least) despite the drunken Diane and King deciding it would be fun to play catch with her. He'd only let it go on as long as it had because she was giggling like mad the entire time. Ban had been a surprisingly good sport too, the extreme amount of ale probably helped. He looked over at the suspiciously quiet Sins and found them all passed out. He eyed Gowther in the corner waving his hand at him to see if he was awake. Nothing. _Guess not._

Feeling her arms finally relax, Meliodas carefully peeled Elizabeth off his arm and shifted her so that she was lying curled up on the bench. He stood and effortlessly shifted the piece of furniture across the floor setting it next to the hearth so she'd be warm. Retrieving a glass of ale from the table, he sat back down by her feet, resting his hand on her bare toes to warm them up. He'd watch over her tonight. Hopefully, in the morning, her Nanny(who was also supposed to double as her bodyguard), would receive a good enough scare that she wouldn't dare sleep while on duty again.

* * *

 **So, what do you think?**

 **Reviews, Favorites, and Follows are all greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the favorites and follows, nice to know people are interested. Special thanks to "guesty" and Cerulean Grace for the reviews.**

 **As always, favorites/follows/reviews, are all appreciated.**

Enjoy! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Surprises**

She'd never climbed so high before. Elizabeth felt like she was flying, her one arm was stretched out and the opposite hand held the tree top securely, while the wind blew through her hair and caused her dress to flutter around her. The tree swayed with the wind and even though she was perched on the highest branch of the tallest tree in the garden, Elizabeth couldn't be scared, not when she could see everything.

The blue sky stretched out above her until it reached some distant dark clouds. Below, the interconnected layers of walls that made up the lower castle spread out in all directions around her. Veronica had said they were for "defense", whatever that meant. Elizabeth traced the paths with her eyes like she was tracking a maze on a piece of paper, following them one direction to the main castle, the other direction to the knights training grounds, out to the secondary gate, and finally into the city beyond.

A flurry of panicked shouts came from below her. Looking down, she saw Nanny and two of the maids looking up at her. They'd been searching for her for a while now and had only just spotted her. They called to her, but with the wind in her ears, she couldn't hear what they said. She didn't need to know what Nanny was saying, she looked REALLY angry. Elizabeth knew she was going to be in trouble when she finally came down. But she had a plan, so, for now, she settled in to wait for him.

She was going to surprise Daddy, show him how high she could climb. He'd been so busy lately, she hadn't seen him in almost a week. But she would see him today, she wasn't coming out of this tree until Daddy came.

The breeze blew, the tree swayed, and she was lulled by the feeling. Stretching out her arms once more, she pretended she was a bird. She imagined soaring over the walls of the castle, visiting distant places, seeing new things. Sometimes, she wished could fly away whenever she wanted. At home, unless she managed to sneak away, there was always someone watching her, telling her what she could and couldn't do. Instructing her on how to be a proper lady, how to be a princess, and scolding her when she did something wrong, which happened a lot. She wasn't even a real Princess. Why did she have to get in trouble for not being good at acting like one?

"Elizabeth get down from there this instant!" Her Daddy's loud baritone voice filled the air. Reaching her even over the sound of the wind. She smiled. It had worked.

"No!" she called back beaming down at him. She wasn't going to give up that easily. Distracted, the next strong gust of wind had her wobbling and gripping the narrow top of the tree with both hands to keep her balance.

She heard the maids shouting again, and looked down to find Daddy climbing up the tree. She didn't know Daddy could climb trees. He was pretty good at it too, he'd already gotten really high. Then, there was a crack, his eyes got very wide, and she watched him fall. The sound of him hitting the ground made her blood run cold. He didn't get up. Why didn't he get up?

The sound of the maids screaming jolted her into action. She began frantically climbing down the tree, but her hands were numb and there were tears in her eyes. Elizabeth didn't make it far before her foot slipped off a branch, and she was the one falling.

She shut her eyes tight and opened her mouth to scream. She barely managed a squeak before arms were wrapped securely around her. With a jostle and a soft thump, the feeling of falling stopped.

"Hey. You awake?"

* * *

He was at the training grounds working with Little Gil when he'd heard it. Blocking the boy's attack effortlessly, his head turned in the direction of the sound. Something was going on, shouts were being carried by the wind, women's voices and they sounded anxious and frustrated.

"Let's go see what all the fuss is about," Meliodas said, leading the way out of the training grounds, hands casually tucked behind his head.

The shouting got louder the closer they got. Coming around a corner revealed the source of the commotion. Visible over the high wall of the garden was the top of the tall evergreen tree that dominated the space. Standing triumphantly on the tallest branch, arms outstretched, was Elizabeth. He was caught between being proud of, and annoyed at, her fearlessness. He'd arranged a nice safe life as a princess for her, and what does she do with it? She climbs to the top of an eighty-foot tree on a windy day.

"Looks like she escaped again," Little Gil commented from next to him, also looking up at the princess in the tree.

"Escaped?" Meliodas raised an eyebrow at Little Gil's choice of words.

"That's what Margaret calls it," he shrugged.

They both heard the commanding voice of the King demanding she come down echo down the passageway. Followed immediately by her own cheeky reply of "no" on the wind.

"She is going to be in so much trouble," the boy next to him observed.

Meliodas couldn't help but smile. A particularly strong gust of wind had her teetering and gripping the tree trunk. His knees bent, ready to jump for her, but he relaxed when she quickly steadied herself. She was fine. She was tougher than she looked. Even so, he guessed he should probably go help Baltra get the fearless little girl out of the tree before the old man went more grey.

Walking through the covered passageway to the garden, Meliodas regretted the choice to not go over the wall. Having her out of sight in this situation made him uneasy, his pace picked up slightly. He reassured himself that she was fine. Then, the screaming started.

He reached the garden in a flash, just in time to see her fall. With a surge of power, he pushed off from the stone, stepping lightly on a few of the lower branches to get the right angle. He slowed just slightly before he reached her so he wouldn't meet her with too much force, still managing to catch her before she fell far. She clung to him immediately and he hopped down out of the tree making sure to absorb the impact with his knees when he landed. She was already scared. He didn't want to add to it. A quick glance confirmed that she wasn't hurt, though she had a white-knuckle grip on his shirt and her eyes remained tightly shut.

"Hey. You awake?" He asked, and her deep blue eyes snapped open, looking directly into his.

"Get the Doctor!" someone shouted and Meliodas didn't understand why. He'd caught her. She was safe. Then his eyes landed on the unconscious form of the king at the base of the tree. _Whoops!_ He probably should have noticed that earlier.

"Daddy!" Elizabeth screamed and pushed off him, running to her father, draping herself over him and sobbing.

Meliodas took control of the situation, sending Little Gil for the doctor, and the maids to the barracks for a stretcher.

In the resulting quiet, Elizabeth's cries for her father seemed louder. Her nanny, a harsh looking middle aged woman, stood rigidly a few steps from the girl. He recognized her as the one that had come looking for Elizabeth last week. She had barely acknowledged him at the time and had spoken to Elizabeth in a detached manner that made him wonder why she was in the position in the first place. Sure, the woman had apparently once been an Apprentice Holy Knight but she was a horrible bodyguard and didn't seem to like kids. Even now, she was glaring at the sobbing girl. He'd been trying to get the opportunity to speak with Baltra about the woman all week, but the old man had been intensely busy reevaluating defense plans for Liones in the wake of what had happened in Edinburgh. Meliodas was starting to wish he'd been more insistent. He was crossing the distance between them, intending on trying to offer some comfort to the girl himself when the nanny's cool facade snapped.

"Get away from the King!" She barked at Elizabeth, who looked stricken at the woman's harsh words. "You've done enough already!" Elizabeth cringed as the nanny reached for her, but Meliodas got there first.

He eyed the woman darkly, gripping her forearm from his place between her and Elizabeth. "You should go look for the doctor as well." He schooled his features into a bright smile, "Don't worry. I can keep an eye on the Princess." he added, releasing the woman's arm and stressing the "I".

Anger lit the woman's eyes and her face turned red with rage. "A REAL princess would know how to behave like a lady. She wouldn't go climbing trees, and endangering the King with her foolishness." The woman growled, glaring at Elizabeth over his shoulder.

He shifted himself so that he more fully blocked the little girl, and replayed the woman's words in his head. _A REAL Princess?_ Was that why this woman had been so inattentive in her duty? Because she didn't think Elizabeth was worth protecting because she wasn't a REAL princess? Internally he seethed and his hands clenched into fists, but his poker face never cracked, "If she's not a princess, I guess that means you're out of a job. You should go now." he said in a purposefully cheery tone.

She glared at him, challengingly, "Mel, was it? A child like you has no authori-"

"Meliodas, actually," he corrected, cutting her off, "and I'm not a kid. I'm the Captain of the Seven Deadly Sins. Dragon Sin of Wrath, to be specific," he reinforced.

Her face fell and she blanched.

She looked genuinely scared of him. He grinned, reputations were fantastic, "Bye." he dismissed.

The word made her jump, and she hurried away without looking back.

"Mel, why won't Daddy wake up." Elizabeths soft voice drew his attention back to the King. Kneeling next to Elizabeth at Baltra's side he assessed him. He had a bad head wound, was unconscious, and pale, too pale. His breathing was off too, his chest rose and fell in an irregular rhythm. Sending for the doctor had been a waste of time. The King was going to die here. Humans could be so fragile.

He looked at the little girl next to him and in a moment of selfishness that would impress Ban, he was happy that it wasn't her lying here. Silently, he thanked whatever coalescence of fate and coincidence had put him in the right place and time today. The Goddesses must be watching over her because it certainly wasn't done for his benefit.

"Mel? Will Daddy be alright?" she asked. He looked at her not sure what to say, but she figured out the meaning of his silence. He witnessed the instant her heart broke, blue eyes filling with tears before she returned to her position, crying on her father's chest. Guilt, that he couldn't protect her from this, twisted in his chest.

Then, something he hadn't experienced in millennia occurred. From the sobbing girl, a faint light emerged. It washed over him like a warm summer breeze, enveloping all three of them. The blood flowing from the king's head stopped, and his breathing became deep and regular.

Meliodas stared at Elizabeth in disbelief. She looked up at him, her right eye glowing with the symbol of the goddesses, but with a blink, it was gone.

"Mel? Will Daddy be alright?" She asked innocently as if the last thirty seconds hadn't just happened.

"Yeah" he breathed, before collecting himself and grinning at her "Your Daddy's going to be fine." he reassured, patting her on the head.

"What just happened?" a light voice asked, standing a few feet away was Princess Margaret. _When did she get here?_

"Your Daddy tried to climb a tree and fell. But don't worry, he's going to be alright." Meliodas feigned ignorance with a bright smile. In 3000 years, not one reincarnation had awoken the power of the goddesses and she had done it at only four years old. If Elizabeth was destined to be an Apostle of the Goddesses, the fewer people who knew, the better. That included her sister.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for another wave of favorites and follows, after the posting of chapter 2. And thank you to everyone who keeps coming back to read.  
**

 **Shout out to my reviewers, both of you ;)**

 **"Guesty" I'm glad you're still loving it  
and  
Cerulean Grace, thanks for the great discussion :) **

**Favorites, Follows, and Reviews are all greatly appreciated.**

 **Enjoy :)  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The Plan**

This was not part of the plan, Meliodas lamented as he followed Elizabeth down the corridor.

Getting her set up with a nice safe life in the castle.

That was part of the plan.

Becoming a knight of the kingdom and saving powerful individuals from execution or imprisonment to serve as his squad.

That was part of the plan.

Guard her and her home, but keep his distance.

That was the plan.

"Come on, Mel! Hurry up!" she called from up ahead, the pitch of her voice teetering on the edge of a frustrated whine.

"Coming" he called back, lazily waving at her.

Playing babysitter to her while Baltra found a new nanny was definitely NOT part of the plan.

Meliodas didn't, and would never, regret dismissing that horrible woman who called herself a nanny. What he hadn't expected was for Baltra to assign him to help fill the void caused by the woman's abrupt exit. It wasn't much, just during the hours when Elizabeth couldn't be with her sisters and their nannies and only until a new one was arranged, but it was still far more than he had ever intended.

There was also the matter of not letting too many people, including the Sins, find out. He didn't care that part-time bodyguard to a four-year-old wasn't exactly an upward move from Captain. What he didn't want was anyone connecting a line between him and her. It was bad enough that it seemed the King was starting to figure things out. It wasn't as if preventing Elizabeth from falling to her death or wander around alone at night, made him the best choice to serve as her temporary bodyguard. The King presumably knew more than he was supposed to. The arrangements for Elizabeth had been agreed upon with the late Queen and she was supposed to have kept the details secret. The fewer people who knew about his and Elizabeth's shared history the better. He had enemies and unfortunately so did she. Especially after what happened at the base of the tree.

A small hand gripped two of his fingers, "You're so slow!" Elizabeth complained pulling on him, in an attempt to drag him along faster. He could tell she was using all of her strength by the angle she leaned forward at and the determined look in her eyes. He conceded and allowed himself to stumble as if she was actually dragging him down the hall. She smiled up at him in triumph.

 _Ok, that was pretty cute._

Once she was setting the pace, they reached the garden quickly.

"Now what Princess?" he asked with a smile.

"Can we play a game?" she clasped her hands together in front of her and rocked back and forth, teaming with energy.

"Sure" he shrugged, using his usual aloof act to disguise a quick scan of their surroundings, checking the windows of the overlooking building and along the tops of the garden walls.

Elizabeth didn't respond and after a second he glanced down at her. She was frowning up at him."What?" he asked.

"You're being weird" she announced, spinning on her heels, she walked away from him.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, _what did she mean by that?_ "Hey, I thought you wanted to play a game?" Meliodas called after her.

"No, I want to climb trees now." she said distractedly, more focused on reaching for the lowest branch of the same big evergreen that she had fallen out of two days ago.

"Well, be careful. Can't have you falling on my watch." he joked, leaning up against the trunk of another tree where he could keep an eye on her while she climbed.

But, she wasn't trying to reach the branch anymore. Elizabeth stood at the base of the tree, with her back to him, holding very still (something he hadn't seen much of from her).

 _Oh._ Probably not the best idea to bring up falling out of the tree two days after she'd watched her father nearly die, even if her memories of the event seemed a little distorted. He hadn't meant to spoil her fun.

"Kidding." he called, trying to lighten the mood.

She didn't respond. Without a word she turned and slowly walked to the little pond that occupied the other corner of the garden. Sitting down at the edge, she pulled her knees up to her chest.

Meliodas crossed the garden and crouched down next to her. "Hey, aren't you going to climb trees?"

Elizabeth's voice was soft and sad when she spoke, "No. I'm never climbing trees again." He watched her absentmindedly push the lily pads around with a stick she'd picked up from the ground.

"Why not? I thought you liked to climb trees." He tried to peer around to see her face.

"People get hurt when I climb trees. And Daddy says I'll fall," she said quietly, while pushing down on a lily pad watching it submerge before it buoyed back to the surface. Her lip quivered and Meliodas caught the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

He understood. He wanted her to be safe too. But, she had looked so happy perched at the top of that tree with her arms stretched out. He grinned, his decision was made. In one fluid motion he scooped her up and stood, striding quickly across the garden, he placed her on the branch she'd been trying to reach before. She stared at him in confusion.

"Go ahead, Princess," he encouraged, "climb as high as you want."

"But...I'll fall," she protested.

"You won't fall, but if you do, I'll catch you" he reassured " but... maybe only climb really high when I'm around. OK?"

She blinked at him for a few seconds then she extended her hand, holding out her little finger, "Promise you'll catch me?" she asked.

He wrapped his own little finger around hers and locked eyes with her, "I promise" he answered seriously.

She smiled at him and he thought he'd succeeded in reassuring her when she paused, "But what if Daddy comes?" She asked looking at him with wide worried eyes.

"Then I'll come up and get you so he doesn't have to." He answered without hesitation, "I'm a Knight. It's my job to retrieve Princesses from trees." He joked.

She gave him a wide smile and giggled "You're not a Knight Mel, you're a big kid" she announced, catching him off guard. Before he could protest, she was climbing the tall tree, faster than he thought possible for a four-year-old in a dress. It didn't take long for her to be waving down at him from the top.

He waved back.

* * *

Mel wasn't very tall for a big kid, but he looked even tinier from up here.

This was going to be great. He wasn't like Nanny. He didn't yell at her when she got excited and pulled him down the hall. He was nice. He let her climb trees and she didn't have to worry about falling or Daddy. Nanny used to say that she would fall one day and that would teach her. What it would teach her, she wasn't sure, but it didn't seem like a good thing. But Mel promised he would catch her. Elizabeth smiled, trying to think if she knew of any even bigger trees to climb.

She wondered what else he'd let her do.

Maybe he'd take her outside the walls?

Or to visit his funny friends?

Elizabeth spent a little while at the top of the tree, but it was cloudy and when she felt the first few drops of rain blow in on the breeze she decided to climb down. She spotted Mel stretched out on the grass of the garden, facing her but with his eyes closed. She frowned down at him. How was he supposed to catch her if she fell when he was sleeping? He wasn't even paying attention.

"Mel!" She yelled, doing her best to sound like she was scared.

"What's wrong?" he called back, without moving. She frowned at him again, she had been hoping for a bigger reaction than that.

"I'm going to fall!" she cried dramatically grabbing a branch and leaned out over open space.

"No you're not," he replied in a bored tone, though one of his eyes cracked open, "but you will if you keep doing that."

"But you said you'd catch me" She pointed out, pulling herself back towards the tree.

"I will" he responded, eyes closing again.

"But you're not paying attention" She complained, climbing down a few branches.

"I am" he protested.

"Your eyes are closed" She pointed out.

"So?"

"So, how are you supposed to catch me if you're not watching?" She challenged hands on her hips.

"I'm really fast." He said casually as if that was obvious.

"How fast?" she eyed him.

"Fast enough," he responded stretching and tucking his arms under his head.

Elizabeth was getting frustrated. He was kind of being a jerk. He'd promised to catch her and he wasn't even paying attention. No one was that fast.

She'd almost made it to the bottom of the tree, she was only one branch above the lowest one. She could jump from here, she'd done it before. Glancing over she found him still lying flat on the ground with his eyes closed. She crouched down and hopped out of the tree.

He was holding her up by her armpits "Wow" she breathed, "you ARE fast." Maybe he wasn't joking when he said he was a Knight, it WOULD explain the sword and the weird friends.

"You didn't believe I'd catch you..." there was a hint of disbelief in his voice.

She smiled brightly at him, still suspended in the air. "I do now" Elizabeth began to kick her legs and he took the hint and set her down on the ground.

His face shifted into its usual smile, "I promised, didn't I?"

She smiled back, then she had an idea, "Wanna play tag?" and without waiting for his response she smacked his arm, "YOU'RE IT! she yelled and took off running as fast as she could for the covered passageway that led out of the garden. She nearly tripped on a depression in the stone of the walkway that she had never noticed before, but soon she was in the passageway and out of his sight. Mel might be fast but she knew hiding spots.

This was going to be great!

* * *

He waited, giving her a head start.

He'd never known a reincarnation when she was so young, as he listened to her giggling echo off the walls of the passageway, he realized that once again he cared for her. But it wasn't in the same way as it had been in the past, right now, he felt more like a big brother to the little girl. That was a role he was familiar with. So, if that was to be his role in her life(at least for now), then he would embrace it.

No, that hadn't been the plan but plans change.


	4. Chapter 4 (Part 1)

**DON'T SKIP THESE NOTES.** (I totally get skipping author's notes at the beginning of chapters but there is some important information you might want.)

 **First, THIS CHAPTER IS RATED T, (for some foul language in another language)**

 **Second, this chapter has two parts, this is PART 1. It sort of took off on me and in a blink it was over twice the size of the other chapters(and still growing), so for that reason, I have opted to break it up. I will try and get part 2 out within a couple days, hopefully no later than Monday.**

 **Third, this chapter contains some french. Not a huge amount, some is close enough to** **e** **nglish that it's understandable; some you can infer its meaning from the reactions of the characters; and some you aren't supposed to (or don't need to) know the meaning of in the moment. That being said, everything will be translated at the very end. And, if you can, please try and read that character with a French accent. ;) Also if you speak french and my translations are horrible, please let me know how I can fix them :)**

 **Thanks for taking the time to read this. For the sake of brevity, I'll do the thank you's at the end this time.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 (Part 1): Lost**

Meliodas lay in the grass of the garden one arm tucked behind his head. This had become the usual place to meet her. This afternoon, just like every Tuesday afternoon, was Margaret's and Veronica's Latin lessons, a time that had proven impossible to keep little Elizabeth from becoming disruptive and/or "escaping". Disruptive he could see, but it still baffled him how they could so easily lose track of her. He'd never lost her once over the last two months, why did Margaret's and Veronica's nannies have such a hard time keeping track of the girl?

Hopefully, when a new nanny was hired she would have better luck. Though, after two months he wasn't holding out much hope that it would happen anytime soon. Apparently, nannies/bodyguards that weren't psychopaths or already employed were difficult to find. As far as Meliodas was concerned there wasn't any rush, he was enjoying his current role. He was even trying to figure out if there was a way he could still spend time with her after the nanny was hired and he was no longer strictly necessary. Who else was going to take her to climb trees?

"Mel," Elizabeth called from across the garden. He didn't respond deciding to tease her a little by pretending to be asleep.

"Mel!" her voice was louder and a little more insistent. He kept himself from grinning and focused on keeping his breathing even. Maybe he would jump up and surprise her once she got closer.

"Mellllll!" she whined, _that was impressive_ , she wasn't usually that whiny. Meliodas could feel her standing right next to him now. She grabbed the arm that lay across his stomach, he left it relaxed, keeping up the sleeping act. What he expected was for her to try to wake him up by pulling on or shaking his arm, what he didn't expect was to feel teeth sink into his forearm.

Meliodas' eyes shot open and locked with hers. Elizabeth froze, teeth still embedded in his arm. "Are you biting me?" he asked in disbelief. At his words, she released his arm, jumped back, stumbled, and landed on her bum. She stayed there watching him with wide eyes, waiting for his reaction.

He intentionally didn't move except to inspect the tiny teeth marks imprinted into his arm, wondering just how much force she had to use to leave such a deep mark. If he was human, she probably would have broken the skin. He smiled, _Tough little brat_.

"So, did you miss lunch or something?" he asked her jokingly.

Apparently reassured that he wasn't going to get mad at her, she pouted at him, "You weren't listening! And it's important!"

"What's so important you needed to bite me?" he asked, once again inspecting the teeth marks. _It might actually bruise_.

"I need your help!" she said emphatically.

That got his attention and he turned to look at her fully. She was leaning forward on her hands, her bottom lip quivering and tears in her eyes.

Meliodas immediately sat up, giving her is full attention, "What's going on?"

"She's missing?!" Elizabeth cried and the tears began to fall.

"Who's missing?" he asked calmly, while he thought through a myriad of things, including how he hadn't heard of any disappearances and that he was only armed with the dragon hilt right now.

"Dolly." she sniffled.

"...Who?" He couldn't think of anyone named Dolly. Was he missing something here?

"My Dolly!" she said insistently, looking at him like he should know who she was talking about.

"….your...dolly?" he repeated, then it clicked. _Right. Four-year-old girl._ He relaxed, feeling his power settle into the background once again. Standing, Meliodas offered her both his hands, smiling down at her, "Come on Princess. Let's go find your doll. " She grabbed his hands without hesitation and he effortlessly pulled her up, deliberately lifting her slightly off the ground before allowing her to setting back on her feet. It had the desired effect and she giggled, despite the tears on her cheeks.

* * *

Elizabeth peeked around the corner of the stairway that the servants used, confirming that no one was around before she stepped into the hall. There weren't usually many people around here at this time of day, but it was still good to be careful. The halls down here were a lot narrower than the ones upstairs, so it was harder to hide. And having Mel with her this time, made it impossible.

"When was the last time you said you had your dolly?" Mel asked from behind her.

"Last night" she answered. She had Dolly with her when she went to bed and she had Dolly with her when she got out of bed during the night. But she couldn't remember if she still had her when she went to bed again. She'd been so tired, she didn't really remember going to bed the second time. But Dolly was gone when she woke up in the morning.

"So shouldn't we be looking in your room?" he questioned, sounding confused.

"No, I looked there already," she answered simply. "And you said I should…" she thought about how he had worded it, "retrace my steps. Right?" she smiled up at him.

He smiled back, "I did." he confirmed but she caught him frowning while looking around.

As they got closer to their destination she could smell baking bread. _UhOh_ , Jack could be very focussed when he was baking and cranky about having people he didn't know in the kitchen. She eyed Mel, who was following one step behind her, she didn't want to get him in trouble. At the door to the kitchen, she turned around, putting her hands out she pushed against him to stop him. "Wait here" she instructed.

Mel gave her a funny look that she didn't understand. "You were down here in the kitchen last night?"

Elizabeth held up her finger and shushed him with a stern look, this was for his own good. "Wait here." she reinforced, pushing him back from the doorway.

He smiled at her and there was something about it that made her feel like he was laughing at her even though he wasn't actually laughing. "OK Princess, if that's what you want. I'll be right here if you need me." He relented, leaning his shoulder against the wall.

"I'll be right back," she reassured him and entered the kitchen alone.

The ovens were going, she could smell wood smoke beneath the smell of baking bread, and the whole room was hot despite the big doors to outside being open. There were only a few other people in the room and she slipped through the kitchen, keeping her head ducked down below the height of the work tables that ran the length of the room, trying not to attract any attention. The room was long with a round ceiling, halfway down she passed the stoves and the doors to outside. Her destination was at the far end, where his big work table sat near the baking ovens.

When Elizabeth reached the work table she pulled her wobbly stool out from under it so she could see over the top. Even with the stool, her chin was only just level with the table top. The table was made especially for him, so it was extra tall. She used to think that Jack was what a giant was until she met Mel's friend. She gripped the edge of the table and waited for him to notice her. She knew better than to interrupt Jack when he was baking.

On his one side, there was a large bowl of dough, on the other, there were a bunch of metal trays covered with cloth. She watched him as he tore off a chunk of dough, smacked it down onto the table(stirring up a cloud of flour), ground the heel of his hand into it, flipped it over, rolled it into a ball, and dropped it onto a tray. Jack repeated this over and over until the bowl was empty and the trays were full, then he draped a cloth over it and wiped his hands. It was only then that he saw her.

"Ahh. Bonjour, ma petite Princesse!" he greeted with a huge smile.

Elizabeth beamed back, enjoying the sound of his usual greeting for her. She liked his accent and how he used pieces of his language, it always made her feel like she stepped into a whole different land when she visited the kitchen.

"Hello Jack." she returned the greeting.

"Jacques, it's pronounced Jacques." he corrected her.

"Sorry Jack." Elizabeth apologized, she'd never been able to say it the way he did.

He dragged his hand down his face and sighed, before smiling at her again. Leaning over, he let his forearms rest on the wide table so he was looking her in the eyes and not down at her. "What brings you to my kitchen this afternoon? Are you hungry?"

"No." She shook her head, "I'm looking for Dolly. She's lost. Have you seen her?"

"Ohhh," He looked up and frowned, and she could tell he was thinking really hard about it, "My apologies, I have not." he responded sadly.

"Alright, thank you." Elizabeth looked down, disappointed. She was sure if Dolly was anywhere she would be in the kitchen.

"Un moment" he smiled at her, before he straightened, looked down the expanse of the kitchen and yelled "Attention -vous merde manger fouteurs de porc! Avez-vous vu la poupée Princess'?" She didn't understand what he had said but it was funny to watch the cooks jump when he yelled. She giggled, she never understood why they were afraid of him.

The cooks looked between each other before one replied to him, "No Chef, we haven't seen it."

Jack sighed "My apologies once again. But we will keep watch for it." he reassured her before yelling down the length of the kitchen "n'est-ce pas!?"

"Yes chef!" the cooks replied in unison.

Elizabeth giggled again.

"So," he settled his arms back on the table, "when was the last time you remember having your dolly?" he asked her almost the same question Mel had.

"Last night," she answered, without thinking. Then she realized what she had said, and ducked below the edge of the table.

"Hmmm, Then why….would your dolly be here?" he asked her in a tone far too sweet.

She'd been caught.

He clucked his tongue at her and she peeked over the table top at him in time to see him shake his head. "Ma petite princess has been escaping at night again?" he asked.

Elizabeth ducked back down. She didn't know why he was asking, he already knew the answer.

"I have told you before, if you must come to the kitchen, then come in the early morning or during the day, when I am here. You should not be down here at night." He stressed.

"Sorry." she apologized peeking at him over the edge of the table again.

Jack sighed, "It's alright ma petite choux." Then out of nowhere he shot upright and clapped his giant hands together. The sound echoed down through the kitchen making her jump. "Have you checked with the maids?!" he asked excitedly. "If your dolly was misplaced somewhere the maids may have already found her!"

She brightened and straightened up so she could better see him "No I haven't!"

"They should be finishing their lunch in our dining room about now. I will go with you. You are on your own again this afternoon, no?" Jack asked, taking off his apron.

"No, she's with me."

Elizabeth turned and to see Mel walking through the kitchen towards them. His hands were tucked in his pockets and he seemed to be taking in everything, his eyes looking everywhere but where he was going.

She blinked at him.

"I got bored," he explained innocently.

Right away she noticed was that Mel was the same height as the table, standing on the stool she was actually a little taller than him. Then she noticed that Jack was looming over him. She leaned over, setting a steadying hand on his shoulder when the stool wobbled and cupped her other hand so she could whisper in his ear, "Be careful, Jack doesn't like people he doesn't know being in his kitchen."

He returned the action and whispered back "Thanks for the warning." winking at her before he turned his attention to Jack. Mel extended his hand.

"I'm Meliodas, Captain of-"

"I know who you are," Jack interrupted leaning forward to take Mel's hand completely encompassing it and shaking it firmly. "You are... how do you say?... le tuteur de la petite princesse." Jack smirked down at him.

"That's one way to put it," Mel shrugged. Elizabeth frowned, did Mel just understand what Jack said?

Jack looked surprised, or maybe confused, he had his head tipped sideways and he was frowning at Mel.

"This is Jack" Elizabeth introduced because he had forgotten, "He's my friend."

"It is pronounced Jacques, and I am also the Palace Chef." Jack clarified, apparently remembering his manners. She knew how to introduce herself, why was it so hard for Jack?

"He's my friend too" Elizabeth added, pointing at Mel. So Jack would know who she was talking about.

"And he is nicer than your last nanny?" Jack asked.

"Not a nanny" Mel objected.

Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically, "a lot nicer!" Elizabeth hooked her elbows on the table and pulled herself up so her feet dangled above the stool. "He's helping me find Dolly."

"Then you should hurry or you will miss the maids. You know where you are going?" Jack confirmed.

"Yes! The dining room around the corner, right?"She beamed at him and excitedly swung her legs above the stool.

"Oui! Off with you then" Jack made good-natured shooing motions at her.

Elizabeth moved to step back down on the stool but in her excitement, her one foot missed the stool completely and the other only just barely caught the edge causing the stool to slide forward and her to fall backward. Then Jack's hand was wrapped around the entirety of her forearm, and Mel had his arm around her back and a foot on the stool to keep it from completely sliding out from under her. Simultaneously Jack pulled and Mel pushed and she was steady on her feet again, at least as steady as she could be on the wobbly stool.

"Bon prise" Jack addressed Mel.

"I could say the same to you" Mel responded with a grin.

"Thank you." Elizabeth breathed and then giggled, as her heart rate slowed down. Alright, that had a been a little scary.

"You're very welcome, ma petite choux," Jack responded with a little bow. "Now don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Right! Come on!" she grabbed Mel's arm to steady herself as she hopped off the stool and started pulling him out of the kitchen.

"Un moment, s'il vous plait," Jack called, they both paused. Elizabeth could tell by his tone of voice what he meant, "May I have a word with your friend?" Jack asked her.

She looked at them and frowned. Why did Jack want to talk to Mel? Was he going to tell on her about exploring at night?

"You go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute" Mel encouraged.

"Alright. The dining room is that way," she pointed. "You'll hear them"

* * *

Meliodas watched her hurry down the hallway, and around a corner, then a few seconds later a collective joyful squeal of women's voices could be heard. _I guess that's what she meant by I'll hear them._

Satisfied that Elizabeth was alright for the moment he went back to address the french chef. He was surprised by the cold and assessing look the man gave him as he approached. He had been nothing but smiles and warmth while speaking with Elizabeth. "Quoi de neuf?" he asked the mountain of a man casually.

"I don't meet a lot of people who speak my language," he said, voice thick with suspicion. "The only reason these morceaux des merde do is because they have no choice," he indicated the cooks.

Meliodas shrugged him off, "I learned some a long time ago, I'm as surprised as you that I still remember any. So," he prompted again, "What's up? or was that it?"

The man stared at him for a few seconds as if assessing the validity of his answer before he finally responded, "Merci beaucoup."

"For what?" Meliodas questioned. What could the man be thanking him for?

"For getting rid of la salope."

"La salope?" He hadn't been a fan of the horrible nanny but he hadn't expected the cook to come right out and call her a bitch.

"Oui, la salope." Jacque confirmed. "I thought I was going to have to poison her food to get rid of her."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Meliodas joked before his tone darkened slightly "but..what exactly did she do?"

"She was, not a good person." Jacque answered cryptically, "La petite princesse has been much happier since she has been gone."

Meliodas eyed the man, a little annoyed that he wouldn't be more upfront. Jacque ignored him and started pulling bread from the oven. Meliodas filed it away for later, la salope was gone and it was nice to know that Elizabeth was happier. He turned to leave then he remembered something he'd wanted to ask, "Oh yeah, you mentioned earlier that she "escapes"? How often does she do that?"

"Not as often as she used to." Jack responded vaguely, "I wish she did not do it at night. But there is no need to worry for her during the day, we down here are used to it. Once she is seen she is accompanied. She is our little Princess, we are happy to look out for her. Right now the maids are probably organizing a search party for her little doll. You should hurry Tuteur or they will take your task from you." he teased practically singing the last part.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Meliodas asked. He didn't think the chef would know anything but it was a suspicious choice of words.

"It is true is it not? Or would you prefer I call you "nanny"?" Jacques smirked at him evilly.

"Are those my only options?" Meliodas raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Oui," Jacques nodded unapologetically.

"Then Tuteur is it." Meliodas shoved his hands in his pockets and left to go catch up with Elizabeth.

 **To be continued in, Chapter 4(Part 2): Found**

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 **So what did you think? I have no idea where Jacques came from, I just sent them looking for her doll and the next thing I knew she's in the kitchen, and what's a castle kitchen without a giant foul-mouthed french chef ;)**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed.**

 **And a special thank you to the people who took the time to review.**

 **Cerulean Grace: Sorry, I had to make her a little whiny in this one because it fit the situation ;) I thought of your comment when I was writing that part.**

 **"Guesty": Thank you for the review :) I hope you are just as pleased with this chapter as the previous ones.**

 **peacerockgirl123: Welcome. Was that a quick enough update for you? ;)**

 **lickitysplit: Welcome and thank you for your review for chapter two. I always thought her story about her father falling out of the tree was missing something. I had a hard time imagining a kid calming climbing down a tree in that situation.**

 **Translations**

Bonjour, ma petite Princesse! - Hello, my little princess  
Un moment - One moment  
Attention -vous merde manger fouteurs de porc! Avez-vous vu la poupée Princess'? - Listen you shit eating pig fuckers! Have you seen the Princess' doll?  
n'est-ce pas!? - Isn't that right?  
ma petite choux. - my little cabbage  
le tuteur de la petite princesse. - The guardian of the little princess.  
Oui! - -Yes!  
Bon prise - Good catch  
Un moment, s'il vous plait. - one moment, please  
Quoi de neuf? - What's up?  
morceaux des merde - Pieces of shit  
Merci beaucoup. - Thank you very much  
la salope - The bitch  
Tuteur - Guardian


	5. Note

_**HUGE SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 181 IN THE MANGA TURN BACK NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT**  
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 _. **SERIOUSLY, CHAPTER 181, THE ONE JUST RELEASED.**  
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 **LAST CHANCE**_

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 _ **.YOU WERE WARNED**  
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 **So this week's big reveal, Meliodas did bring her from Danafor, at least part of my theory was right. And I am simultaneously thrilled and depressed. On the one hand, I was right, which is awesome and it's a super cool revelation for the canon universe. But on the other hand, it's no doubt going to effect** **this story.**

 **While yes I know this is fanfiction, and yes, that means this is already a hefty load of fan theory and fiction I have tried to make it so it didn't contradict any of our limited canon knowledge of that time period. In chapter 2 and future planned chapters, it was even going to work with it.**

 **Well, canon is about to get a major information infusion over the next few weeks. I had a feeling this was coming and I was trying soo hard to get this story done before then. Had chapter 181 been released this time in July I could have pulled it off. But it wasn't...**

 **So now I have a few options for this fic. To begin with, I don't see any other option but to put it on very temporary hiatus, just until the new canon information is revealed. (Sorry, I know you were probably hoping this was Part 2 of chapter 4. WAIT! Don't leave, I have to ask you something.)**

 **Once the new info is out, I can see this going three ways...**

 **First possibility, the new information might be such that I can maybe just tweak previous chapters so that this story still works with** **canon, if I can do that, then that is absolutely what I will do. As it stands right now, I just need to adjust the little blurb about the Queen and the King's level of knowledge from Chapter 3 and it's still good to go.**

 **Second possibility, the new info will totally sink this story by covering/contradicting stuff that I have already written and future planned chapters. The final chapter of this story was planned to be the events of the day the Sin's are framed and exiled and that could very well be covered in the manga over the next few weeks. If this is the case, I will post what I have already written(Part 2 of chapter 4 and the final chapter), but I probably won't write anything new.**

 **Third possibility, the new info sinks my story, but I turn this into a slight AU and carry on as if nothing has happened. I write what I had planned on writing regardless of what is canon,** **basically drawing a semi-AU line and saying this story is part theory but is in line with the limited canon knowledge up until chapter 181….I have good stuff planned, notes on 9+ more chapters, BUT, _would you still be interested in it if I did that?_ I like this story but I like it as an outlet for my rampant fan theories and the crazy cuteness of Meliodas hanging out with little Elizabeth. But if canon is going to blow the fan theory stuff out of the water next week, I would only be writing it for the cuteness factor.**

 **So, Let me know if you would like to see the third option happen, because if no one is interested I probably won't bother. Review this chapter or PM me and let me know what you think, seriously, I'm super nice you don't have to be shy ;)**

 **Thanks :)**

 **As of August 8/2016 I had planned on removing this and replacing it with Chapter 4(Part 2) when I posted chapter 5 but means that the story doesn't show up as having a new chapter because the chapter numbers are the same. Sorry to all the new readers who are forced to read my little freakout. ;)**


	6. Chapter 4 (Part 2)

**Happy belated Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians! To all those that call the US home, Happy early 4th of July!**

 **Wow! I'm so thrilled that so many people like this story. Thank you, to all the reviewers, particularly the first time ones, that opted for option 3.**

 **So decision made, once more info comes out I will either tweak the story to fit with canon or I will continue it the way it was originally intended . Either way, this story will continue. :)**

 **With that in mind, I figured what the heck. I'm gonna post this, it's part 2 after all. ;)**

 **Huge thank you's for the reviews/support from:**

 **Queen Emily the Diligent  
"Guesty"** **  
Cerulean Grace  
CaptainTwiggy0918  
The Sassy Sylveon  
Night's Bullet  
peacerockergirl123**

 **Quick note:** This chapter features a scene taken directly from series, which of course I don't own. Also, for the scene, there are actually two versions of the actions(manga vs. anime) and three versions of the dialogue (manga, anime sub, anime dub). I chose the manga version, so if you've only seen the anime or that's the version you think of when you think of this scene then, it might seem wrong, but the manga version worked better for my purposes.

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4(Part2): Found**

Jacques hadn't been exaggerating when he said the maids were most likely organizing a search party for Elizabeth's doll. They had spent the remainder of the afternoon helping her search. Like a swarm of locusts in maid's uniforms, they'd swept through the castle's many corridors, rooms, and halls. Ushering himself and Elizabeth through closed doors first so that the occupants of those rooms couldn't object, and then flooding in behind in a wave of black and white, systematically upending everything in the room then returning it to pristine condition before moving on.

They'd retraced Elizabeth's steps and then some, adding to the search party as they went. When they swept through the area used for school lessons they had recruited her sisters, their nannies, and tutors. Veronica had taken over his place at Elizabeth's side, giving him a dirty look. Apparently, the middle child was still leery of him, and by leery, he meant trying to set him on fire with her mind. When they had searched the corridors leading to the knights training grounds Zaratras and Little Gil had been pulled into their ever growing procession. Little Gil had situated himself at Margaret's side. A move that hadn't gone unnoticed by Zaratras, who spoke animatedly about it as well as anything and everything else. Finally, even Baltra and two of his advisors joined the group following the search of the throne room.

It was surreal to see how many people Elizabeth could inspire to come to her aid simply by asking for their help.

But, in the end, as afternoon turned to evening, it became clear that they weren't going to find the doll. Meliodas tried to suppress the feeling that he had somehow failed her. It was just a doll, but it was important to her. He'd never seen her so disheartened and he promised her he would come back tomorrow to continue the search.

With that, there wasn't anything else for him to do but head home. Home, right now, was a converted barracks, designed to have areas tall and open enough to house Gowther in his ever present armor, Escanor during the day and Diane in general, as well as everyone else.

As he walked home, he couldn't shake the sense that something was off in the capital city. It seemed that from almost every house he passed, he could hear crying children. But as there didn't seem to be any other signs of panic or distress in the streets, he filed away the observation. Kids cried sometimes, it wasn't THAT weird.

Stepping into the Sin's house, all Meliodas really wanted was to drink with his friends. Finding Gowther reading and Diane napping, he poured himself a stein of ale and sought out the one man who would never turn down an opportunity to drink. He'd probably already started. Climbing the steps to the second story, Meliodas headed to the room at the end of the hall, passing King's and Merlin's rooms along the way. Finding the door open, Meliodas stepped into Ban's room.

And there he was, sprawled out like a sultan on a throne of plushies. Surrounded by already empty liquor bottles, sporting an inebriated flush and a self-satisfied smile.

"Ban, I can't believe I'm asking you this but…" Meliodas hesitated. _There's no way…._

"Hm?" Ban acknowledged him without taking the bottle from his lips.

"Did you go around stealing every plushie in the kingdom?" Meliodas took a gulp from his stein while subtly trying to survey the pile. _After we looked all day..._

"Day and night I put in sweat and hard labor for the Kingdom. I won't be cursed if I do something this small, right?" Ban slurred out while making exaggerated hand movements as if to stress his point.

"...no you definitely deserve to be cursed," Meliodas answered, spotting Elizabeth's doll in the pile. Before he could consider how to retrieve it, King joined them.

"Is that story true?" King asked Ban.

"King?" Meliodas had never seen him this upset, he looked to be an odd mixture of horrified and enraged.

"Do you have a proooooblem? Fatass?" Ban sing-songed, still looking way too pleased with himself.

"So that's why I heard the crying of little children throughout town." Meliodas connected, taking another sip from his stein.

The statement apparently triggered King as he began to sob obnoxiously.

"And now the cry of an old geezer has been added to the mix" Meliodas couldn't help but add because he truly hadn't heard anything worse than King's crazy over the top crying. Elizabeth hadn't even been this bad and she was four.

"Shaaaaaduuup" Ban dragged out.

"I'm sad, Ban!" King cried, "Every one of these guys... They have memories and feelings stuffed inside them! But then...you...you.. You're terrible!" King continued to sob. Meliodas watched the interaction from the sidelines.

"Noo! Aren't they stuffed with cotton or old clothes?"Ban grabbed a plush bear to show King what actually was inside, pulling a seam apart.

"Stop iiiiiit!" King snatched it away before Ban could do too much damage, cradling the plush bear protectively.

"There. There." Meliodas patted the sobbing King on the shoulder. All the while thinking that this was definitely not the type of thing he'd expected to deal with when he gathered "criminals" to be Knights.

"Come on let's go downstairs and get you a drink," Meliodas said as he guided the still sobbing, King out the door and down the stairs to the area that served as a living room of sorts. He set King up with a mug of ale, sitting him between Diane and Gowther. The two of them had no choice but to acknowledge him, he was making enough noise.

Leaving King to them Meliodas grabbed as many bottles of ale as he could carry and headed back up to Ban's room, formulating a plan as he went.

"Hey Cap'n." Ban slurred when Meliodas stepped back into the room.

"Hey Ban," Meliodas tossed Ban one of the bottles he'd brought with him. Ban caught it effortlessly. _Not nearly drunk enough yet._ Meliodas noted.

Meliodas sat down on the rug, leaning against the pile, of plushies, his goal in reach. Taking another gulp from his stein, he watched as Ban took a drink from his own. Every time he drank, Ban drank. Meliodas grinned, he'd thought he was going to have to make a more overt challenge, but it had become a habit for Ban to match him, drink for drink. And Ban had a significant headstart this evening. The night went on and all the while they drank, talked, and laughed. THIS was more like what he had expected when he'd gathered the Sins. Even if he could still faintly hear King sobbing downstairs.

The sky was just starting to show signs of brightening by the time Ban began to snore. Mel leaned his head back waiting for a while to be sure he was deep asleep. Stealing from a thief was a tricky thing and he had to be sure that Ban wouldn't easily wake up. About the time he was convinced Ban was out for the count, as if on cue, the door creaked open, revealing King's tear streaked face.

"Captain?" King paused, clearly surprised Meliodas was there.

"Yo," he waved from his spot in the pile of plushies.

King floated into the room, soundlessly. "You're not alright with this, are you?" King regarded him suspiciously.

"Nope," Meliodas responded without hesitation.

King held eye contact with him and Meliodas blinked innocently back.

Satisfied, King started gathering plushies from around Ban.

"Whatcha doing?" Meliodas asked.

"Returning them," King responded distractedly, as he tucked a large penguin under his arm.

"How do you know who they belong to?" He watched as King got closer and closer to Elizabeth's doll.

"They're cherished items," King answered as if that was supposed to make sense to him.

"But how..?" Meliodas hesitated not really sure how to ask.

"It's a fairy thing" King explained by not explaining.

King picked up a plush bear that sat next to Elizabeth's doll and nearly dropped the plush penguin tucked under his arm. Then King, arms full of plushies, floated out of the room.

Once he heard the front door close, Meliodas stood and stretched, scooping up Elizabeth's doll and tucking it under his arm. He headed down the hall, a little pleased with himself for pulling it off, without tipping off either Ban or King.

He didn't even hear her door open.

"Good morning Captain. Don't tell me you're collecting toys now too." Merlin smirked at him from her doorway.

"Nope, just helping King return them." Meliodas deflected and continued walking. Wishing Merlin had spent the night at the magical research tower like she usually did.

"Of course," she responded.

Meliodas thought maybe that would be the end of it.

"Oh by the way..."

 _Nope,_ he'd thought wrong.

"...Did you happen to hear that there was quite a commotion at the castle yesterday?" she asked from behind him.

Meliodas paused "Oh?" he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Yes, apparently, one of the princesses lost a doll" Merlin paused to smile at him, "I think it was the youngest one, Elizabeth? Maybe?"

Meliodas turned to face her fully, "Sounds right," he allowed, trying to feign ignorance.

"Anyways, I had heard that a large group was mobilized to search for it, all the castles maids, the King and even a few Holy Knights." she smiled at him knowingly.

"That would be hard to miss." he smiled, trying to maintain his well-practiced nonchalance, "Did they find the doll?" he tried once more to bluff her.

She looked up and away, resting her finger against her pursed lips as if she was thinking, then her gaze drifted sideways and not so subtly to Elizabeth's doll still tucked under his arm. "I think it may have been found...you could always ask her next time you see her. It's usually Friday mornings if I'm not mistaken."

 _Crap_

"It's Friday afternoon this week." Meliodas corrected. Now that it was confirmed that she knew, he would rather be direct about it than allow her to keep toying with him like a cat with a mouse. He turned to face her fully. "So when did you figure it out?"

"I wish I could take credit, but I just happened to see you at the castle a few weeks ago. I must say Captain, it's quite adorable watching you play tag with the girl." Merlin smirked at him. "How exactly did you find yourself in that situation

"She asked me to," Meliodas answered knowing that that wasn't what Merlin was asking. Her eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly, he'd dodge the question and she didn't like when he did that. Good.

"But, Nanny seems an odd task for you to be chosen for." She smirked at him. She was intentionally trying to aggravate him. Testing him and assessing his reaction.

He shrugged, "You know we can't refuse an order from the King."

Merlin held his gaze. Meliodas smiled back blithely.

She broke eye contact first and her smirk morphed into a more pleasant smile "Of course you can't. I was merely curious Captain" she waved off.

Potential mutiny averted, he turned to leave "See ya later Merlin" He waved over his shoulder, descending the stairs, and stepping out into the predawn light.

He should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep being assigned to Elizabeth a secret. Merlin was a glutton, for magic and information. If she hadn't already, she would soon begin making connections and if Merlin could do it then others would too.

Meliodas tucked the little blond haired doll behind his back as King passed by, heading back for a second trip.

He'd enjoyed being Elizabeth's friend, but it would be safer for her if, once the new nanny was hired, that came to an end. To start, he would give the doll to the maids to return. They had certainly put in enough effort searching for it. They could be the heroes of this story because it wouldn't be long before he returned to being "le tuteur de la petite princesse" from a distance.

* * *

Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly not sure what had woken her, her sisters were still sleeping soundly on either side of her. With Dolly still missing she hadn't been able to sleep, so Veronica and Margaret had joined her in her room for the night.

There was a soft knocking at the door. Elizabeth sat up looking at Margaret's nanny, slumped sideways in the chair at the bedside, a book hanging loosely from her hand. She was a nice woman but not very good at staying awake. The soft knocking came again and she crawled to the foot of the bed and slid off. Her feet landing softly on the floor. When she opened the door she was greeted by the smiling face of a maid. It took a moment but she recognized her as the one that had suggested they all go look for Dolly together.

"Good Morning Princess Eli-"

"Shhhh!" Elizabeth shushed her harshly and the maids mouth snapped closed, "They're still sleeping." Elizabeth opened the door a little more to show her the sleeping forms of her sisters.

"Ohhhh," she whispered with a smile. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I thought you would want this right away."

Elizabeth's eyes bugged out as the maid pulled Dolly out from behind her back.

"Dolly! You came back!" Elizabeth squealed, completely disregarding her own instructions to keep quiet. There was a flurry of surprised shouts and the sound of a book hitting the floor behind her, but she was too busy hugging Dolly to pay attention. Soon she was joined at the door by her sisters and Margaret's nanny.

"Look she found my Dolly!" she showed Margaret and Veronica.

"Elizabeth, what do you say?" Margaret prompted, while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Oh! Thank you!" Elizabeth beamed at the maid.

"Oh no," she waved them off with a smile, "I didn't find it. Sir Meliodas did." Then she did something Elizabeth found very funny, her mouth snapped closed and she turned very red. Elizabeth was going to ask her if she was feeling sick, but Veronica spoke first.

"Probably stole it in the first place," Veronica grumbled.

"Mel wouldn't do that!" Elizabeth defended, shocked that her sister could think that.

"He's a criminal. Criminals steal stuff." Veronica challenged.

"He's not a criminal." Elizabeth countered and the girls locked eyes with each other.

"Yes, he is"

"No, he's not."

"Yes! He is!"

"No! He's-"

"Girls, it's far too early for bickering." The baritone voice of their father as he came down the hallway, brought the argument to a stop. He was in his housecoat and bare feet. The three little girls smiled up at him, while the nanny and maid dropped into deep bows averting their eyes. "Now what's all the noise about so early in the morning?" Her Daddy asked, looking them over.

"Dolly is back!" Elizabeth hurried to her father. He picked her up and she held Dolly right up to his face to show him.

"That's wonderful news." he said, gently pushing dolly away his face "Now you must take better care of your things." he chastised "It was very irresponsible for you to have lost it and it greatly inconvenienced many people."

"It really was no inconvenience, Your Majesty." The maid offered without raising her head.

"Hm..And what is your name?" Her Daddy turned his attention to the maid.

"Sarah, your majesty, I am one of the maids of the castle"

"Yes, I can see that from your uniform." Her Daddy teased and Elizabeth saw the back of the maid's, the back of Sarah's, neck turn red.

"Where exactly did you find my daughter's doll?"Her Daddy questioned.

"Oh it wasn't me Your Majesty, Sir Meliodas found it and brought it to the servants dining room during breakfast. I was just the one chosen to return it to the Princess."

"And why you?" her daddy was looking down at Sarah and Elizabeth could tell he was thinking about something.

"Because I was the one to organize the search."

"Were you? And why did you do that?"

"I wanted to help the Princess, your Majesty. She is very sweet." the maid glanced up at her and smiled. Elizabeth grinned back and waved from her place in her daddy's arms.

"Hmm. Come see me in the throne room once your work is done this afternoon. I would like to speak with you about something. For now, you are dismissed."

"Yes, your majesty. Thank you."

The girl hurried away.

"Well girls, we should all go off and get ready for breakfast ourselves." he addressed them all, setting Elizabeth back on the ground.

Margaret and Veronica headed to their own rooms and Elizabeth went to hers, Dolly still firmly held against her chest.

Crawling up on her bed, Elizabeth sat in the middle of a nest of blankets and began to look over Dolly. straightening her dress and smoothing her hair. Dolly had to be ready for breakfast too. "I'm glad you're back," Elizabeth said while running her fingers through the doll's hair. "I missed you, but don't worry Margaret and Veronica took care of me last night. And, it was kind of fun looking for you. Like a huge game of hide-and-seek. Except I didn't have to look alone. I had lots of people helping me. It's nice to have so many friends. I'll remember to say thank you to Mel next time we see him."

* * *

 **So what did you think?**

 **Reviews, Favorites, and Follows are all greatly appreciated.**

 **Sorry there is no direct interaction between Meliodas and Elizabeth in this part, it just didn't work out.**


	7. Chapter 5

**Apologies for the extended absence. The sunlight peeked through the curtains and lured me outside. ;) Welcome to all those that favorited/ followed this story while I was busy chasing away my winter pale.**  
 **  
There was also a significant delay because I managed to initially write this entire chapter in the wrong tense so it took longer to edit and fix that than it did to write. I'm hoping it's all right but at this point, I've read it so many times it's time to post and move on.**

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* * *

 **Chapter 5: Monster**

"Where did she go?" Meliodas asked out loud, wandering down one of the wide hallways of the main castle.

He looked under the tablecloth of one of the small tables that lined the hall. _Nope._

He checked behind a door. _Nope._

He checked in a small space between two pillars. _Nope._

He checked behind a curtain. _Nope._

He checked behind a large ornate vase. _Nope._

He checked under another table. _Nope._

"The Princess sure has found a good hiding spot." he called pleasantly, making sure his voice would carry...and he waited….

A muffled giggle echoed off the walls. _Works every time._ Meliodas grinned, casually walking down the hall in the direction the giggle had come from.

"I don't think I'll ever find her." He called when he reached a corner, "I'll have to send for help."

The giggle was louder this time and was accompanied by the movement of a curtain halfway down the next corridor.

"I hope some of my fellow Knights have time to help me look, or the Princess might be lost forever." Meliodas spotted her feet just visible below the heavy fabric of the curtain.

"You're not a knight." She protested from her hiding spot and he saw the curtain move. He'd have to figure out how to prove to her that he was actually a holy knight. It had been months and she still insisted that he wasn't. But, for right now he had a princess to 'find'.

"If I wasn't a holy knight" he walked softly up to where she was hiding, "do you think I'd be able to" he grabbed the material, "Find you here!" and he whipped back the curtain revealing Elizabeth. The little girl gasped, and with a squeak, she took off down the hall laughing.

He chased after her allowing her to remain just out of his reach. But close enough that when she looked back she would shriek and run faster. Lately, he'd gotten in the habit of allowing their games to go on as long as possible. A young woman, who had been one of the maids, was currently receiving training to take over as Elizabeth's nanny. Days like this were numbered.

Elizabeth disappeared around a corner just ahead of him and he heard her cry out and collide with something and he skidded around the corner to find her on top of Little Gil.

"Princess Elizabeth are you alright." Little Gil asked her from his pinned position, "Here I'll help you up." The boy tried to move out from underneath her. But Elizabeth was oblivious to the boy's struggles as she didn't even attempt to get off him, innocently answering his question.

"Yeah I'm fine" she replied.

Meliodas took mercy on his pupil and hooked Elizabeth under the arms lifting her up and setting her on her feet.

He reached down to help the boy next but Elizabeth beat him to the outstretched hand and by putting all her weight into it, she pulled Little Gil to his feet. The poor boy flushed crimson. Meliodas stifled a laugh. Whether he was embarrassed by being helped up by a princess when he meant to be a knight or if it was because Elizabeth was five years younger than him, Meliodas didn't know.

"Sir Meliodas!" Little Gil addressed him, snapping to attention.

"What's up Little Gil?" Meliodas asked distracted as he watched Elizabeth examine one of her elbows, it looked a little red but she dismissed it quickly enough so he did too.

"My father has requested, you go see him in the meeting room on the main floor." The boy reported.

That got Meliodas' attention. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know" Little Gil shook his head, "We were training and a messenger came. And Father told me to come find you and to escort Princess Elizabeth back to her room."

"Looks like we will have to finish our game another day," Meliodas smiled down at the little girl.

Her lower lip jutted out in an impressive pout. "But...It was going to be your turn to hide next. I wanted to find you!"

He smiled at her and patted her on the head. "Next time, I'll hide first. Ok?"

"Tomorrow?" she asked.

"Maybe." he shrugged.

"Maybe means no," She grumbled.

When did she get so smart, but then again she was almost five years old now. He knelt down so that he was at her height. "Friday. Like always."

She nodded, grinning.

"Now go with Little Gil, straight to your room, no detours, alright?" he winked at her.

"Alright." She beamed up at him.

"Promise?" he pressed, offering her his little finger like she had to him months ago at the base of the tree.

"I promise." She hooked her finger with his and gave it a firm shake.

"Good" he patted her on her head. "See you Friday" Turning his attention to little Gil he addressed the boy, with the wooden training sword tucked at his hip "Stay with her, don't leave her alone."

"Yes Sir Meliodas!" the boy bowed, hand on the handle of his wooden training sword. Meliodas didn't even try to hide his amused grin.

* * *

Elizabeth sat on her bed flipping through a picture book, bored. Gil was out on her balcony watching the knights move around the courtyard below. He said he could tell something was going on.

There was a knock at her door and she looked over at Gil. He hadn't seemed to hear it. In fact, he was very focussed on what was going on in the courtyard, leaning way over the railing.

"Who's there?" she called, scooting to the end of her bed.

"It's Meliodas." his muffled voice called.

"OH!" Elizabeth jumped off the bed and ran across the room to the door. He'd come back maybe whatever was happening it was alright for him to keep playing with her. She threw open the door, "Did you come back to-"

Elizabeth froze, her stomach dropped, and all the hair stood up on the back of her neck because THAT was NOT Mel. That was a silver and red monster with horns and beady eyes and a hump on its head.

"Surprise told you I was-"

She screamed and slammed the door. She spun on her heels her eyes darting around the room, she had to get away. Elizabeth ran for the balcony crashing into Gil as he rushed inside.

"WHAT IS IT!" Gil asked, steadying her with his hands on her shoulders.

She pointed at the door with a shaky hand. "M-monster." she squeaked.

Gil looked from her to the door, and back again. "Go hide," Gil said, pointing to her bed and drawing his wooden sword. He stepped between her and the door. "Don't worry, I'll protect you." She was pretty sure his voice was shaking, but she did what he said, diving under her bed, and wiggling her way under the head of the bed. She curled into a ball, making herself as small as possible. Pressing her back against the wall, her shoulders filled the space between the bottom of the mattress and the floor.

Beneath the edge of the bed skirt, she could just see the bottom of Gil's feet as he slowly walked towards the door. There was another knock. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her ears. Her own hammering heartbeat and the occasional quiet sob drowned out any outside noise.

She wished she had made Gill hide with her or made him escape her room. She wished that she hadn't answered her door. She wished she was still with Mel when the monster came.

She stayed like that for what felt like forever. Until, she felt the vibration of something hitting the floor. Then it happened again, and again. Her sobs were silenced by her throat closing up with fear. In the darkness of her closed eyes and the silence of her covered ears she thought of all the horrible things that could be happening to Gil.

Elizabeth heard muffled voices just before something touched her hand. She flinched, her eyes snapping open. The sight of Mel and Gil both stretched out underneath the bed greeted her. Gil frowned at her looking concerned. Mel, who was the one who had touched her hand, was smiling as if she hadn't just had a monster at her bedroom door.

Her eyes looked back and forth between them. "What are you doing here?" she sniffled.

"You wouldn't come out so we came to get you," Mel grinned.

"What about the monster?" she asked her eyes looking around the curtained edges of the bed.

"... yeah... about that." Mel tried to scratch the back of his head but his hand hit the bottom of her mattress.

"That's Sir Meliodas' armor," Gil explained.

"Mel's...armor?" she asked, turning wide confused eyes in Gil's direction.

"Yeah, because he's a Holy Knight," Gil stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Really?" Elizabeth looked at Mel questioningly.

He blinked at her, his face blank, "yeah...really."

"Oh. I thought you were joking," she whispered, feeling her face flush.

Before Mel could say anything, Gil burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he soon began to cry. Every time his laughter would stop he'd look at them and start laughing again.

"Gil...it's not that funny!" Elizabeth protested.

"You're reminding me of your dad right now," Mel commented.

That put a damper on Gil's laughter if only a little, but he was still snorting and laughing as he backed his way out from under the bed.

Mel turned to look at her, "Ready to come out?"

She nodded, wiping at her face. The tears were dry but the skin of her cheeks felt tight when she smiled at him. Meliodas grinned back and tried to back out from under the bed like Gil had. He didn't make it far before the handle of the sword, that is always on his back, caught on one of the wooden supports for the mattress. Elizabeth watched as he tried to move forward only succeeding in poking a hole in the mattress lining with the sharp horns on the grinning dragons head. A few more attempts at freeing himself and the head of the dragon was caught fully inside the hole. Elizabeth watched silently while Meliodas tried to move forward and back but it didn't work to free the sword from the mattress. He tried to turn over to reach for it, but there wasn't enough space under the bed for him to do that. He couldn't even reach the buckle to undo the strap that held it to his back.

With a sigh, Meliodas dropped his forehead to the floor and took a deep breath letting out a chuckle on the exhale.

"You're stuck," Elizabeth stated.

"Yup" he sighed again. "I am not looking forward to explaining how I broke your bed," he said, bracing his palms against the floor and pressing his shoulders up against the wooden support for the mattress.

Elizabeth heard a crack from her bed frame as it bent where MEluiodas pressed against it. "Wait!" She called, pausing him. Crawling forward on her stomach and elbows she reached through the narrow space between the back of his head and the bottom of the mattress. All the hairs on her arm stood up when she touched the green handle and she felt him tense.

"...careful...it's sharp." Mel said it kind of funny, but she couldn't be sure as his voice was muffled from his face being pressed to the floor, giving her enough room to work. It didn't take long for her to free the handle from the mattress.

"There you go," Elizabeth smiled at him.

"Thanks!" he grinned at her. This time, when he backed out from under the bed he was sure to keep lower.

She followed and soon the three of them were sitting cross-legged on the floor at the side of the bed. In front of the pile of Mel's discarded armor.

Gil examined Mel's helmet, pressing his finger into the end of one of the pointed horns. Elizabeth had both his armored gloves on, they were far too big but it was fun wiggling her fingers inside. The knights of the castle didn't wear armor like this.

The chest plate caught her eye next and she discarded the gloves. Pulling it onto her lap, Elizabeth examined the chest plate tracing her fingers over the odd symbol on it, three bent lines connected in the center. It wasn't a symbol of Liones, she couldn't remember ever seeing it before but it felt familiar.

"Oh yeah!" Mel's voice startled her from her thoughts. "I have to go away for a few days for work."

She blinked at him, "Work?"

"Gotta go kill a dragon," he shrugged.

"A...Dragon?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Thought I should let you know I might not make it back in time to see you on Friday. Also, thought it would be a good chance prove I'm a knight by showing you my armor…not exactly the reaction I was expecting. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," she said, handing the chest plate back to him.

He smiled at her. Before undoing the buckle that held the green handled sword on his back and setting the sword on the floor in front of him. As he worked on the buckles to attached the chest plate he turned and addressed Gil, "I'm gonna need that back soon, so if you want to try it on now's your chance."

Gil grinned, putting Mel's helmet on. It was too big on him and tipped sideways comically.

Elizabeth looked down at the sword, the light from outside caught the red eye of the dragon making it appear to wink at her. Mel seemed happy to let them look at his armor. Gil was wearing Mel's helmet. She just wanted to get a better look at the handle, he shouldn't mind. She glanced at Mel, he was looking the other way working on doing up the buckle on the opposite shoulder. She reached for the sword but before she could touch the handle his hand is on her wrist so fast it made her jump. Mel's grip wasn't tight, there was no resistance when she hastily withdrew her hand. She knew she had done something wrong, and mumbled an apology, keeping her hands clasped in her lap and her eyes down.

There was a beat of silence and her stomach twisted in guilt and worry. Then he placed the sheathed sword in her lap.

"If you want to see the blade, ask and _I_ will draw it. Ok?" He stated, accentuating the "I". His tone was about as serious as she had ever heard, but when she looked up for confirmation he smiled down at her pleasantly. "Wouldn't want you to cut yourself." He added more pleasantly.

The sword filled her lap the dragon grinning up at her, from where it rested on her right knee. She traced her fingers over the shining red eye that had drawn her attention. And wrapped her hand around it experimentally. The scale pattern was rough under her hand, but there were spots where it was smooth is if it had been worn down over time. Like how some of the railings in the castle were.

Elizabeth became aware of the silence that had descended on the room and looked up at the two boys next to her, finding them watching her intently. She couldn't read Gil's expression, the only thing she could see of his face was the one eye that he'd managed to line up with the eye hole on Mel's helmet. Mel smiled down at her in his usual carefree way, but there is something that didn't feel right, there was a tightness to his smile that was out of place. Maybe he didn't like her holding the sword?

"Thank you." she handed the still sheathed sword back to him.

"No problem," he smiled and it looks less tight, less forced. She was glad.

"Can I see it now?" asks Gil.

"Maybe another time," Mel said strapping it to his back before standing to retrieve the rest of his armor. "I've gotta get going."

Elizabeth handed him his gloves, "Be careful" she said.

"Of course." he patted her on the head and with a wave over his shoulder and a carefree "See ya soon" he was gone. 

* * *

**What do you think?**

 **Sorry if there are any grammar/spelling issues.**


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